Hope for Jordan Morgan

We are petitioning the government of Nova Scotia and Manulife to expand their coverage of a new and potentially life saving cancer medication LARTRUVO.

LARTRUVO (olaratumab) is a prescription medicine used with a type of chemotherapy called doxorubicin to treat adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS) for whom doxorubicin is appropriate and who cannot be cured with radiation or surgery.

While this is related to the story of Jordan Morgan, we hope to help all Sarcoma patients who are in need of treatments to extend their lives and give them hope.

This is Jordan's story:

Four years ago, shortly after the birth of their youngest child, Felix, 29 year old Jordan was diagnosed with having a rare form of cancer (Sarcoma). At the time, Jordan was working as an LPN at the Digby General Hospital, and he was also an active volunteer in his community. Due to his regimen of treatments he had to give up many of these lifelong passions, including his job of 11 years at the hospital. While the news would be devastating to most, considering his wife and two young children, Jordan chose to fight this deadly disease.

Recently a devastating set-back has put the last four years of progress in jeopardy, as Jordan is now dealing with a rapidly growing chest tumour. There is a treatment that has been prescribed to Jordan which can help to reduce the size of this tumour, giving an opportunity for surgery. The treatment involves using the medications: LARTRUVO and DOXORUBICIN, but the cost for the Lartruvo is $130,000 and currently is not covered by the province of Nova Scotia nor his Manulife medication plan. This relatively new medication, (LARTRUVO) manufactured by Eli Lilly, is so new that it has not yet made the list of medications of which Nova Scotia or Manulife benefit plans cover the cost, however, it is an approved medication for use in Canada and has been showing promising results in the fight against Sarcoma.

Eli Lilly was contacted, and they do offer a compassionate care program for Lartruvo in the United States, but unfortunately not in Canada. Jordan now finds himself not only fighting the cancer, but making a last ditched effort in trying to deal with the Nova Scotia government and Manulife to get this new treatment funded.

We are asking you to sign this petition in seeking to have the province of Nova Scotia, Eli Lilly and/or Manulife at least help bring the cost down to a more affordable and reasonable amount for Jordan's treatments, giving him (and others who share this same disease) a fighting chance to continue living their lives. This is a very time sensitive issue for Jordan. To put a price on having a father/husband spend one more day with their young family is unconscionable. WE NEED ACTION NOW!

Please sign this petition, which will be forwarded to the Premier of Nova Scotia, Eli Lilly, the Nova Scotia Health Minister, Manulife and Jordan's local, MLA Gordon Wilson. If you have the time, please also consider emailing these organizations to let them know that a father, husband, and son desperately needs their help, and please share this petition for as much widespread exposure as possible.

Thank you

Note: Jordan is married to his wife Angela, and has two young children; Gabriel and Felix. They live just outside of Digby, Nova Scotia.